DA Revelations Episode 15: Pain
by AngelExposed
Summary: Remy is still undergoing treatment on Muir Island. Rogue begins to feel concern about Jessie's nightmares and begins to raise questions about Gabrielle.
1. Chapter 1: Dingy Grey Skies

DA REVELATIONS

Episode 15 – Pain

Chapter 1 – Dingy Grey Skies

The sky was a dingy grey colour – it seemed to have been that colour ever since the day he'd arrived on Muir Island just two and a half weeks ago.

Remy LeBeau couldn't remember ever having seen the skies of Muir Island clear blue – perhaps it was just a failing memory that led him to believe that the skies had always been grey, or perhaps...he just had never looked hard enough to notice. _Perhaps it's just my mood._

Right now, the Island was thick with snow, and it crunched under his boots as he walked along the cliff's edge, his gloved hand skimming the icy metal railings as he moved. The water was rough, churning and crashing against the rocks below, and the wind howled, stirring his long hair, stinging his windburnt cheeks.

He'd never been overly fond of the Island. It was too bleak, too out of the way, there wasn't much on Muir Island except from a tiny fishing village, a pub, and a few necessary shops. He stopped to glance over the edge, in the distance across the water, he could see the city of Edinburgh, perhaps slightly less snowy than where he stood. It had been years since he'd been there; as he thought of it, he thought of the antique shop where he'd bought Rogue's engagement ring and he wondered if he would ever see the woman wear that ring again.

_I could have,_ he reminded himself dully as he stared down into the dangerous waters. _It was my choice not to get engaged this time. It wouldn't have been fair to her to get engaged when I'm such a mess..._

He wondered what Rogue were doing at that very moment; he glanced to his watch and noted it was eight am, a Sunday. Rogue would be asleep...it'd only be three am in Bayville.

_Even if I _could _call her, she'd be asleep,_ he reasoned as he turned back to head towards the research centre up on the hill. He wondered if Rogue had been thinking about him as much as he had been thinking about her. He couldn't call her on the phone – his phonecalls were monitored by Moira, he was only allowed to speak to the Professor during his time away.

_Rehab_, he thought somewhat angrily. _It's like they've put me in rehab and I'm prohibited from being close to anyone I love._

He himself didn't see the point in being prevented from being in contact with Rogue or Jessie – it didn't make sense. He'd asked the Professor and he was only advised it would be best to help him focus on getting better rather than worrying about what's going back home. Personally, Remy wondered if it were a case of being like a naughty child who's toys and favourite possessions were taken away until such a time as he'd learned to behave.

_Either way I look at it,_ Remy reminded himself, _this is my own goddamn fault. If I hadn't been so stupid...if I'd been taking proper care of myself...if I hadn't waited so _long _in deciding to get help, I could have avoided this. I made some very bad, some very stupid decisions and now I'm having to pay for it._

Stepping into the research centre foyer was like stepping into a warm comfortable bath after standing naked in the cold air; the temperature was inviting, although the place was as stark, clinical and sterile looking as it always had been. He made his way to the new genetic and regenerative therapy lab where Moira MacTaggart would be. He found her there, standing with her clipboard in one hand as she stood by the chamber.

"How was your morning walk?" she asked somewhat disinterestedly as she gently turned a dial on the control panel of the large metal chamber.

"Chilly," he remarked, "I think Scotland is definitely colder than Bayville," he said, he took his jacket up and hung it upon the nearest chair.

"Take your shirt off," she instructed to him as she placed down her clipboard and picked up her digital camera.

He did as instructed to show her his chest; there had once been a three inch wound on his chest that had refused to heal – only two weeks ago it had been an infected painful mess. Now it was down to two inches, and healing incredibly well – it didn't even seem as deep and the pain had almost gone.

"It's healing well, but it hasn't closed up as quickly as I had hoped," Moira took a picture with the camera and put it down.

"You said all it would take was five days in the chamber," Remy reminded. That _had _been the plan originally. Five days unconscious in the chamber, and he should have been healed. But the regenerative therapy chamber, being a new piece of equipment, had been incredibly unpredictable and had kept shutting off during extended periods of time – in fact, using it had blacked out the entire island four times already and it had taken those four sessions of two hours a day to heal his wound this much.

"Yes, well, we couldn't have foreseen the machine being so temperamental or that our power source would be incredibly unstable," Moira said thoughtfully. "But now we've added a back up power source of immense proportions – I'm thinking just a few hours may take you to where you need to be."

"Maybe we should just call it quits," Remy suggested, "this is healing – the pain is hardly there anymore. Hell, that's good enough for me...we were supposed to be done with all this by now."

"You're still required to be here for a few more weeks of psychiatric care. The regenerative therapy won't hurt much."

Remy sighed and unbuttoned his jeans; he was less than thrilled with just how many times Moira had seen him almost completely nude. _Changed days, _he thought sourly. _There used to be a time when I would have stripped down for any woman and never felt embarrassed about it at all_. He climbed up onto the pull out tray of the chamber, shivering at how cold it felt beneath his bare legs. "You couldn't at least have the decency to put some kind of heating into the thing?"

"We'll work on that," Moira smiled.

"Wished it was sooner rather than later," he commented. He lay back, arms at his side, and closed his eyes tightly as Moira began to start the procedure.

It began with wiping various parts of his body with antiseptic before inserting thick, cold hard needles into his flesh that felt as if they went in so deep that they slammed into bone. The needles were attached to various tubes and wires.

"I sure hope you come up with a less painful way to do this," said Remy wincing in pain as the final needle went in – it felt as if the sharp hard edge jarred against his collar bone and he grunted, he knew soon the real pain would begin.

"We're working on that too," Moira announced; she pressed a button on the panel and the tray moved into the chamber, shutting at the other end.

The chamber was completely dark inside; Remy had no clue what went on inside it regardless of how many times he'd already been through this treatment. All he was aware of was the incredibly loud whirring noise and then it all seemed blanked out by the sharp acid-like feel of whatever came through those needles; tiny shocks seemed to follow in pulses and an uncomfortable heat travelled the length of his body. Every muscle in his body became tense with agony and he cried out to release some of the pain.

The plan had been to be unconscious during each session; but his tolerance for the anaesthetic had become too high, and Moira had refused to use much more of it. No other anaesthetic or painkillers could be prescribed to help him tolerate the experience; he had himself to blame for this.

_If you hadn't been so stupid as to use ecstasy _and _get caught, you'd probably be in less pain __right now, _Remy told himself angrily as burning hot tears of pain slid down his temples, his body was on fire, as if every vein were alive with burning lava.

As his body went rigid with the torture, he focused hard on Rogue and Jessie. They were his reasons for doing this and he had to keep reminding himself that the pain was worth it, that the therapy would be worth it. These things would be enough to get him through until the machine would shut off, and the pain would end.


	2. Chapter 2: Cries in the Dark

Chapter Two – Cries in the Dark

Rogue awoke to the sound of screaming; not just the cries of a child but the blood curdling screams that sounded almost as if the youngest student in the mansion – Jessie Crowell – were being savagely murdered by a madman. Rogue fell out of the bed, she landed with a thud and thanks to her invulnerability she barely felt it as she pulled herself up and ran down the hall towards Jessie's tiny bedroom. The door was already open, and as Rogue jogged into the bedroom, she felt the crackles of electrical charge make her skin tingle.

Jessie was trembling in the bed. _No...she's not trembling...she's convulsing,_ Rogue thought worriedly as she stepped closed to the bed. The girl was tensing, it almost looked as she were in the midst of a dangerous seizure. Rogue's breath caught nervously in her throat as she knelt by the bed and put her hands on Jessie's blanketed shoulder.

"Jessie...Jessie, wake up!"

Jessie's eyes snapped open, her eyes wide, her breath coming out in frightened little spurts that misted in the cold room air.

"Are you okay?" Rogue whispered.

Jessie sat up, she stared at Rogue for several moments, then looked around the room almost as if she couldn't believe where she was.

_Where were you in your dreams that made you scream like that,_ Rogue thought, feeling slightly disturbed.

"I felt the pain," Jessie whispered. "All over...it's all over me..." she hugged herself.

"There's nothing here to hurt you," Rogue promised, she turned on the lamp on the cabinet by the bed, and gestured around the room. "See...nothing to hurt you...no one here but me..." she patted her chest.

"But the pain..." Jessie's voice was quivering, tiny, like that of a scared mouse. "I felt it...it was like burning, Rogue...burning all over," she broke out into pathetic little sobs, and tears spilled down over her cheeks.

Rogue felt helpless. She'd never been good at comforting the students when they were upset, and now, she didn't know how she could comfort Jessie without hurting her. She sat watching the crying girl. "What did you dream about?" she asked awkwardly.

"Blackness," Jessie howled, she put her hands to her face and tried to swipe away her tears.

"It's okay, honey," Rogue patted the child's hair awkwardly, hoping it wasn't rough enough to hurt her tiny head. "You can sleep with the light on, if you like..." Rogue stood up.

"Don't go!" Jessie hopped out of the bed and grabbed onto Rogue's pyjama leg tightly with her small fists, she looked up to her pleadingly. Eyes like big grey-blue buttons that gleamed with fresh tears.

"I..."

Jessie's little lip trembled, and she kept her eyes glued to Rogue's face, her cheeks pale, expression frightened.

Rogue thought back to Remy's request. Keep an eye on Jessie. She'd done a very poor job of it so far – she'd barely paid the little girl any attention and she was sure Remy would be dismayed to discover this upon his return. Rogue sighed and sat upon the small bed, "I'll stay, just for a little while," she promised, glancing at the clock and noting she had to be up in three hours for a morning training session with the older students.

Without being prompted, Jessie moved into Rogue's side, pulled herself under Rogue's arm and pressed her cheek against the side of Rogue's chest. Rogue felt strangely awkward at the girl's need for that closeness and stared down at her curiously.

It was something she'd never done before, and that made the whole thing seem only more odd. Rogue let her arm rest gently over Jessie's torso, hoping the pressure wasn't going to break any bones, and sighed softly to herself.

"When is Mr. LeBeau coming back?" Jessie asked softly – she sounded so sad, as if her world were falling apart.

"Soon," Rogue promised. "A few more weeks..." Rogue glanced at the time, "Jessie, you need to be in bed, you need to get up for school and if you don't sleep you'll be tired all day."

"I don't care," Jessie pouted, staring into space.

"C'mon," Rogue let the girl go and she stood up, she waited until Jessie did the same before she moved the covers back for the girl and let her climb in.

"You're staying, right?"

"I..."

"I don't want to be alone..." Jessie said, "what if the bad dreams come back."

"You think I can stop them?" Rogue raised an eyebrow.

"Mr. LeBeau always could."

Rogue sighed, "I need to get back to bed, I have to be up in a few hours..."

"Sleep here...please...there's plenty of room..." Jessie moved back to allow more room and sighing, Rogue did as she was told, she slid beneath the covers of the small bed, and tried to make herself comfortable while keeping her distance from the girl.

Strangely, it was Jessie who closed that distance, she moved closer to Rogue, and Rogue felt the tiny arm slide over her waist and rest on her back. She felt warm and strangely comforting although Rogue knew it was meant to be the other way around.

Jessie closed her eyes.

_This isn't really safe,_ thought Rogue. _What if my top comes up at the back and she touches my bare skin? What if I accidentally kill her?_

"Don't worry, Rogue," Jessie whispered, almost as if she knew what she was thinking. "You won't hurt me..."

"How do you know that?" Rogue asked softly, a sudden sadness overwhelming her. "I hurt everyone who tries to get close to me."

Jessie moved closer, her body pressed into Rogue's for warmth, "Mr. LeBeau doesn't get hurt."

"Sometimes he does..."

Rogue felt the tiniest charge of Jessie's powers. It reminded her of Remy's powers; that static feeling like every tiny hair on her body was standing on edge just before the touch came.

Jessie yawned a little, "If Mr. LeBeau is safe with you..." she sighed tiredly, "then I am too."

Rogue wished she had that faith in herself.


	3. Chapter 3: Strong Features

Chapter Three – Strong Features

Rogue felt irritable all day – she hadn't slept since Jessie's screaming had awakened her. Instead, she'd lay on the bed uncomfortable, constantly checking that her pyjama top was tucked in securely to her pyjama bottoms and that the little girl beside her wasn't about to be absorbed to death.

It was odd, watching that little girl sleep; the eyelashes gently caressing the chubby pink cheeks, the soft rhythmic sighing of comfortable slumber. Watching her only brought a strange sadness to Rogue; a sadness that she would probably never experience having a child of her own, and that watching this little one here before her, or watching Kitty with her new baby, was as close as she would get to ever having children in her life.

_It's no wonder Remy spends so much time fawning over her,_ Rogue thought later that morning as she stepped tiredly down the hallways of the sub-basement towards the Danger Room. Logically, Rogue had always felt Remy was trying to replace his lost daughter with Jessie, even though she'd tried to deny the fact to him whenever he asked. But now, it seemed like much more than just replacement.

Rogue stopped in the hallway for a moment to rest and breathe before she wanted to step into the Danger Room to meet with her students. _Maybe it isn't just Remy trying to replace Gabrielle. Maybe he's trying to live out the fantasy of having a kid because there isn't going to be any chances of it in the future. _

Rogue had always known that it hurt him every time he looked at that little girl, saw her big blue grey eyes and long tawny hair. Now that she thought about it, Rogue wondered if Gabrielle might have taken after Bella Donna and looked not all that different to Jessie – a blue eyed blonde. Did Remy wonder if Gabrielle would have looked something like Jessie? Would she have?

In the Danger Room during her training session with the students, she tried to focus on the task at hand but found it impossible. In the end, their constant mistakes and her inability to keep track of what was going on left her so frustrated she called the session off early, much to their delight.

After showering and changing into her civilian clothes, she left her bedroom feeling even more sullen and grumpy than before the training session. As she was passing Kitty's room she glanced in to see Kitty at the changing table making a face as she was dropping a diaper into the bin beside it. Rogue stopped, and leaned against the door frame. "Hey," she greeted.

Kitty glanced over as she picked up a fresh wipe from the dispenser on the end of the changing table, "morning," she said, she sounded just as exhausted as Rogue felt. "Training session end early?"

"Yeah," said Rogue, she folded her arms and stared down at the carpet, "the kids kept messing up – and I just couldn't focus."

"Bad night?" Kitty asked.

"Yeah. Jessie's screaming woke me up."

"She has a lot of bad dreams," said Kitty sadly as she picked up Caleb's ankles and cleaned him off. "It's not even like _normal_ stuff like monsters in the closet, or aliens under the bed..."

"I know," Rogue finally stepped into the room and walked over. "She said she felt pain in her sleep – like burning."

"Weird," said Kitty, "but I guess not for a mutant. Maybe more powers are manifesting."

"The room was charged when I walked in...but if it was her powers, wouldn't she know?"

"Probably not," shrugged Kitty as she grabbed a fresh diaper, "I mean...she's seven...she has no real conception of how her powers actually work or how they could get stronger...to her more powers manifesting might just feel like sunburn, or...pins and needles...y'know?"

"I guess so," Rogue sat upon the rocking chair near the window.

"Those dreams frighten me...and I'm not even the one _having_ them," Kitty confessed.

"She seems to forget them pretty quickly."

"Yeah, kids are good at adjusting."

"Is she adjusting to school?" Rogue asked.

Kitty finished putting the diaper on Caleb before she spoke. "Honestly, I can't say. Jean takes her and picks her up, the Professor talks to her about school. I hardly get the chance to see her...all these stupid appointments with doctors about the baby's development, and feeding the baby and bathing the baby – it takes so much time I haven't had much time for her. And I feel _so _bad because I promised her this _wouldn't_ happen, and it just like _so _did."

"She probably didn't notice it so much when Remy was here," Rogue crossed one leg over the other and rocked the chair gently.

"True," replied Kitty.

Now that the subject had been broached somewhat, Rogue pondered whether she should express her concerns to Kitty. "Do you...uhm...do you think it still hurts him being with Jessie...I mean...even after so much time with her?"

"It's always gonna hurt him, Rogue. He lost a child himself...and he's always gonna be comparing Jessie to her somewhat...even if it isn't intentional."

"Do you...do you think he wonders if Gabrielle would have been like Jessie?"

Kitty slipped the surgical gloves she'd been wearing to change the baby's diaper off and tossed them into the bin, she picked up her hand sanitising gel and rubbed some in. "I..." she made an odd face, "what do you mean?"

"I mean...do you think he wonders if Gabrielle would have _looked _like _Jessie."_

Kitty thought about this, her blue eyes distant, her lip quivered. "I...don't know, to be honest. He's never mentioned – and he talks to me a lot."

Rogue sighed, "do you think she'd have been like Jessie?"

"Why do you think Gabrielle would look like Jessie?" Kitty asked. Rogue wondered why her friend seemed so jarred by that concept. It was a fair enough question.

"I mean...blonde and blue eyed. Like Bella Donna..."

"It's possible," said Kitty. "I always thought Bella Donna was a bottle blonde though. She always had dark roots."

Taking a moment, Rogue thought back to her time in the mansion where she'd been held captive by Bella Donna years and years ago. "I saw Bella Donna's pictures in her house...of her when she was a kid...I mean I passed them pretty quickly but...I saw the pictures. She _was _a natural blonde."

"Oh."

"Like...sort of straw blonde. Not platinum blonde like her hair was when she stayed here."

"Y'know, I dunno. Maybe."

"Remy's features are _so_ strong though," said Rogue, suddenly quite decisive. "I mean...Gabrielle might have been like him..."

"Black and red eyes? Brown hair? No...I don't think so," said Kitty, sounding apprehensive as she placed Caleb in his crib. "Gabrielle was born with normal eyes...her eyes were that dark bluey-grey colour all babies usually have. At least...that's what Remy said when she was born...I never saw her myself..."

"Oh," said Rogue. "Maybe she would have been like Jessie."

Kitty distractedly remarked, "stands to reason," as she shrugged nonchalantly. She then stiffened, and she suddenly looked quite worried.

"Huh?" said Rogue, raising an eyebrow.

Eyes wide, Kitty stammered momentarily, "I, uh...I...I mean Bella Donna had pretty strong features too..."

"I wouldn't have said that," said Rogue, she was still curious about Kitty's reaction. Why was she suddenly so nervous about that comment.

"Look," said Kitty, she seemed to be trying to get a grip on the conversation, "Remy is preoccupied with _a lot_ of stuff – but you can't be getting preoccupied with what he's thinking or what he's feeling...or you're gonna go down the same road he's on now."

"I guess you're right," Rogue sighed as she stood up, "I just can't help wondering the answers to all these questions."

Kitty frowned just a little, "that makes two of us."


	4. Chapter 4: Twinkle Twinkle

Chapter Four – Twinkle Twinkle

Jessie climbed into the back seat of Miss Grey's Toyota, she placed the violin case beside her on the unoccupied seat and waited patiently as Miss Grey adjusted the seatbelt and clasped it over her securely.

"So...how was school today?" asked Jean.

Frowning, Jessie remarked, "boring!"

Miss Grey smirked a little and closed the back door, then climbed into the drivers seat. "Yes, well, all schools are boring sometimes. Didn't you do _anything_ fun today?"

"We painted," Jessie admitted, her voice a little lighter this time, "and did music."

"Ah, you played your violin today?"

"Yep," said Jessie enthusiastically.

"How did it go?"

"It hurts my fingers," Jessie remarked as she glanced down at her tiny fingers, she could still see the marks the strings had left.

"Well, that'll go away eventually. It's just that you're not used to the feeling, is all," Miss Grey pointed out.

"What's what the teacher said," Jessie mumbled, she rubbed her fingers which felt quite raw, "that I'll get used to it and it won't hurt anymore."

"It will."

Jessie thought back to her lesson; it had been the only thing she had really enjoyed about the day other than the brief art class. Music class, although it seemed as though the other students in her class had found it incredibly boring, had been interesting, and Jessie had been fascinated by everything the teacher had told her, and quite impatient to learn to play her first notes even though she'd had a couple of tries in her room the day she'd gotten the violin. The only sounds she'd been able to make out of it then had been akin to the wailing of injured cats.

"Did you learn any songs?"

"Twinkle Twinkle," Jessie giggled. "It didn't sound much _like_ it though."

Miss Grey laughed too, "It'll take a while before anything you play sounds like something – the violin I've heard is a very hard instrument to play and it takes a lot of lessons before it'll sound like music. But don't worry, you're a very clever little girl and I know that you'll be playing little tunes soon enough."

Jessie smiled, "it's the only thing I like about school."

"Music lessons?"

"Yes," said Jessie. "It's the only part that's not boring...everyone else in class was bored but I liked it – it was awesome," she glanced to the rear view mirror in front, she could see Miss Grey's face. She suddenly wondered if Miss Grey was trying to distract her from thinking about Mr. LeBeau. For a few moments, it had almost worked, until that brief moment of silence when suddenly Jessie realised another day had gone by and still no word about how her grown-up friend was doing. "Is Mr. LeBeau coming home soon?"

"A few weeks, maybe," Miss Grey replied quietly. "We'll see."

"Why is it _taking_ so long?"

"Because it takes a long time to heal up big injuries."

Jessie didn't like this reply, she thought it was a cop out, just an easy way of answering when she could have accepted a fairer more complex answer. "But I heard Professor Xavier say the machine that makes the cuts and pain go away works fast..."

"They thought it might, but it turns out they were wrong, is all," said Miss Grey.

Glancing out of the window as the world rolled by, Jessie wondered if Mr. LeBeau really would be coming back or if he'd gone for good or if everyone was promising his return until she eventually would forget and not care anymore. She doubted she could ever forget the man.

"I miss him," Jessie admitted, she glanced back to the front of the car. "He hasn't phoned or wrote or anything."

"He hasn't been well," Miss Grey said softly.

Jessie knew that to be the truth. Yes, there was definitely something about Mr. LeBeau that wasn't well – badly not well. "I know."

Miss Grey didn't ask any further and Jessie was glad – how was she supposed to explain she knew that there was something wrong with Mr. LeBeau? She was quite aware that somehow she was too young to even know what these things meant, and was definitely too young to be aware of them, and yet, the feelings were there.

_It's not good to know these things without someone telling you, first,_ Jessie reasoned with herself; sometimes when she heard her own voice in her head, she sounded older and far wiser than was in reality. _If I tell everyone...they might send me away..._


	5. Chapter 5: Interference

Chapter Five - Interference

"Something is bothering Jessie," said Jean Grey as she entered the war room where Hank McCoy and Professor Charles Xavier were seated at the central table going over some blueprints for expanding the subbasement. It was just after nine pm and she'd only just put Jessie to bed.

"Oh?" asked Hank McCoy as he raised his blue eyes up to glance at the green eyed red-head, his face was grim. "Is she causing trouble again?"

"No," said Jean quietly, she moved a pile of papers back a little and sat upon the table, primly crossing one leg over the other. "She's...I don't know...not happy. She's been distracted...like her mind is completely somewhere else."

"Do you think she's still bothered about having to attend school?" Hank queried, scratching his chin, he glanced back down to his blueprints briefly.

"I thought she was adjusting to school," Professor Xavier remarked softly.

"She's adjusting – slowly. But it's not school that's bothering her – she seemed content enough when I picked her up from school earlier. It's something else. Maybe regarding Gambit...I'm not all that sure."

"I take it you haven't read her mind..." Hank said, he rolled up the blueprint and put it into a cardboard roll to keep it safe.

Jean's expression was dark, "I tried to...and I got interference."

"Interference?" asked the Professor grimly, "well...that's a first."

"It reminds me of when I've tried to read Remy's mind in the past...that some what staticy interference like trying to tune into a television with a really bad signal...I couldn't make _anything_ out...it was bizarre. I've never seen a _child_ who can actually do it," Jean fretted; she ran a finger frustratedly through her long red hair.

"Do you think she was doing it deliberately?" asked Hank.

"No, I don't believe so..." said Jean, "but then, mutants with that ability aren't usually aware they can even do so. Remy certainly doesn't..."

"She is her father's daughter," Hank mused.

"It shouldn't surprise us," Charles decided, "after all, Remy's new power manifestation is surprisingly similar to Jessie's. Perhaps she's inherited her father's powers. It's certainly possible."

"Makes sense," Jean agreed, "Still bothers me. I rarely ever used my powers on her – but sometimes I felt it was necessary. Jessie is special and sometimes it takes that extra mile to know how to be around her, how to deal with her problems. Now we don't even have _that_ heads up."

"We knew we couldn't go probing around in her mind forever, Jean," the Professor reminded. "We both agreed only in special circumstances. It seems that if Jessie _has _manifested this power to prevent us from reading her mind and emotions, then it's natures way of telling us that we should instead, be using the same approach that parents, guardians and indeed, teachers, all over the world do – those who don't have the powers we do."

Jean nodded, "yes, I realise that. It just bothers me. Jessie is so..." she trailed off.

"Unpredictable," said Hank. "Her nightmares, her loneliness, her insecurity...and her tendency to run off and do things that she knows she isn't supposed to do..."

"Yes, all those things...these are reasons _why_ I liked being able to read her mind, just for that peace of mind she _wasn't_ going to go doing those things."

Hank chuckled, "well, Jessie always kept us all on our toes. Even with two powerful telepaths in the house, she was still able to run away once, and later break into the Hangar unaccompanied without even setting off a warning signal. So quite frankly, having the ability to read her mind or not is practically irrelevant."

Jean smirked, "that's true. I guess even being able to read her mind doesn't give us the power to predict the future."

The monitor on the large panel behind the Professor began to beep loudly, and Charles spun his chair around to hit the button to turn the screen on. It read; INCOMING VIDEO CALL – MUIR ISLAND.

"Muir Island," Hank raised an eyebrow, "they're five hours ahead of us – it's pretty late for a video call. It must be at least...two am?"

"At least," Jean glanced to her watch.

The Professor accepted the incoming call; Moira MacTaggart's tired but pretty face showed up on the screen. Even without having heard whatever it was that she apparently had to say, it was still obvious that something was worrying her immensely.

"Moira. How are you? You're calling incredibly late, aren't you?"

"What _time _it is, doesn't matter, Charles. I have bad news," the Scottish woman replied gravely, "it's Gambit...he's dying."


	6. Chapter 6: Have to Go

Chapter Six – Have to Go

Jessie had just almost drifted off when the voices in the hall disturbed her; it wasn't that they were incredibly loud, or that she was particularly that bothered by not knowing what was being said – at least not at first. It was a funny niggling feeling in the back of her mind that something was wrong. A feeling that eventually left every nerve in her stomach flipping like the pancakes that Miss Pryde made for breakfast that morning.

She wanted to ignore it, but somehow, she just couldn't. She climbed out of bed, padded across the carpet quietly to put her tiny hands upon the large doorknob, and twist it carefully so that it quietly opened. A twinge in her chest made her gasp quietly in pain, but almost as quickly as it came, the pain subsided and for that moment, Jessie chose to forget about it – apparently there was something more important going on in the hall. The voices got louder as the door opened a little more and Jessie peered out. She couldn't see much of what was going on – she could only hear voiced. Three voices. Rogue, Dr. McCoy, and Miss Grey.

"What the hell do you _mean_ I can't go there. You expect me to just...just _stand_ here and wait until I hear again. What the hell are they doing over there that started all this?! 'Cause according to the Professor the other day Remy was _healing_!" Rogue was saying, her voice was high pitched, unlike her usual soft almost gravelly deep smooth voice. She sounded...scared.

Jessie gripped the edge of the door tightly, and craned her neck to look out.

"They're not sure what went wrong. And he _was_ healing," Dr. McCoy was saying, he sounded stressed, and incredibly tired, as if he'd spent far too much time already explaining the whole situation. "Whatever went wrong has reversed the healing process..."

"How could it _reverse _it?! You're telling me he almost had healed and suddenly now he has the hole in his chest again? And not only that but it's _killing_ him?!" Rogue demanded.

_Mr. LeBeau!_ Jessie thought, her heart felt as if it had just suddenly stopped and she winced. Her breathing became hard and she dropped to her knees on the floor. _No! He can't be dying! He can't be dying! He can't be dying! Please! No, please!!!_

"You're the genius here, you _need_ to save him, Hank! He's twenty eight years old, he's not ready to die yet!" Rogue yelled.

"I'm going out there to do the best I can," Dr. McCoy said quietly. "I don't know what I'll be able to do to help..."

"I'm coming with you," said Rogue.

"No. It's not a good idea!"

"I _have_ to come, Hank. You can't expect me to wait here to hear whether the only man I have _ever_ loved is going to live through the next few days," Rogue's voice was strange, staggered, as if she might be crying. Jessie couldn't see her, but could feel the torrents of emotion coming from that direction. It made Jessie's eyes tear up too.

Miss Grey's sigh was loud, "she's right, Hank. She should go."

There was a long pause. "Fine. Get dressed and pack a few things quickly – the Blackbird is set to leave in twenty minutes."

Jessie knelt there by the door for several moments, in the dark, slightly illuminated by the shaft of light spilling into her room. Her body felt cold, her hands clammy, and her heart had begun to beat furiously like the snare drum on her toy karaoke machine.

_I have to go. I can't wait..._ Jessie thought frantically. She pulled herself up to her feet and rushed over to the small dresser; in the dark she pulled on the most convenient things she could find. Jeans, a sweater, socks. She put on her Barbie sneakers and she moved into the hall.

Rogue's room door was open and she peered in; Rogue was throwing things into a large holdall that was set on the floor, Jessie could hear the woman sobbing near hysterically. Finally, Rogue stopped and sat upon the bed, her back facing the door, her hands in her face.

Jessie saw the bag and her chance; she darted across the floor quietly, and climbed awkwardly into the bag, pulling some of the unfolded clothes Rogue had tossed in over herself. Up until then, Jessie had never been so glad to be so small – if she'd been slightly bigger, she'd have never been able to curl up so easily into the bag.

Silently, she lay there, listening, until the sobbing stopped.

"Pull yourself together, Rogue..." Rogue said to herself, sniffling. Jessie heard her stepping across the carpet, she felt a few more things landing on her side as Rogue tossed the last few things in. Then there was the sound of the zip being pulled and the bag was in darkness: a tiny hole Jessie could just about fit her finger through was enough to let air in for the little girl until she could at least get out.

Jessie held her breath and suppressed the urge to grunt as she felt Rogue lifting the bag easily and swing it over her shoulder; she felt every movement as Rogue walked down the hall; she heard the whirring of the hidden elevator down to the sub basement, and she heard the clattering of heels against the metal floor of the hangar area.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Rogue?" Jessie heard Dr. McCoy asking nearby; sounds were slightly muffled but easily enough made out.

"Yes. I need to be with him," said Rogue; Jessie felt the bumping of herself against Rogue's hip as the woman climbed the steps to the hatch of the blackbird. When Jessie felt the bag being put down, the floor beneath her and the material of the bag felt icy cold. She winced and kept herself silent, biting her lip hard to stop herself from complaining about it.

The sounds of the engines were almost deafening, and Jessie put her hands to her ears and held onto them tight as the take off began. She couldn't hear Rogue or Dr. McCoy anymore – they must have been too far away to hear, or too low to hear beneath the roar of the engine sounds. But soon, Jessie felt exhaustion settling over her despite the excruciating sound, and despite the worry, and she closed her eyes, stifled a yawn, and let herself drift into an uncomfortable, but much needed sleep.

The End – Or is it?! Mwahahahahahah!

(Okay, so we're on yet another cliffhanger, but hopefully I'll be able to get episode 16 up real soon ;) Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing with kind words and their ideas and thoughts about what's going on. It always makes my day to read them. Keep on reviewing, guys, I'm writing for you!)


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